DEMOCRAT FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL LOGS MANY MILES CAMPAIGNING FOR OFFICE

Neal Quitno has logged nearly 60,000 miles on his car over the last 10 months since declaring his candidacy for attorney general.

He said he's enjoyed the travel but is now looking forward to the Aug. 4 primary when Democrats will choose from four candidates for the office.

The final days of the campaign are particularly important. Many voters are not even aware of who their choices are for lesser statewide offices, even though Quitno has labored long and hard on the campaign trail.

As the prosecuting attorney from Vernon County in Southwest Missouri, Quitno is the only Democratic candidate from a rural area.

He believes that will be a plus for him once voters focus on their choices, although he is not conceding metropolitan areas completely to the opposition.

"About 55 percent of the Democratic vote in this state is in rural areas, so I could do well, especially with the split among other candidates," said Quitno during a visit to Cape Girardeau Wednesday. "We have signs in over 90 counties and endorsements of 120 county officials from around the state."

The 34-year old resident of Nevada said he is running for attorney general for the same reason he first ran for prosecutor six years ago.

"This is a great opportunity to affect change and make things better," he said. By working with law enforcement officials, Quitno said the attorney general, like a prosecutor, can play a direct role in improving quality of life.

"The attorney general handles cases in the areas of criminal, environmental, antitrust, consumer protection and many other important areas of law that affect our daily lives," said Quitno.

The latest poll in the attorney general's race showed that 65 percent of the voters were undecided or did not know who was running. That means "the race is wide open," he said.

Quitno is counting on a combination of support from young Democrats and county officials giving him the kind of grassroots support needed to win the nomination.

One focal point of his campaign is a "no-deals" policy he would implement in the attorney general's office similar to what he has done in Vernon County.

"My office has made every decision with the best interests of the pubic in mind. We have not made deals that endanger the welfare of the people who pay my salary, the people I serve," said Quitno.

He said the policy has applied to perpetrators of domestic violence and child abuse, drug offenders and other offenders. "The same policy can be used in every operation of the attorney general's office, including violators of criminal, environmental, consumer-fraud and anti-trust law," said Quitno.

He said other candidates have outlined detailed platforms they will follow if elected, but suggested it is best to look at what a candidate has already done, not what they promise to do.

Following a "no-deals" policy would also give him the kind of independence an attorney general needs to maintain the integrity of the office, Quitno said.

If elected, Quitno said he would create a Medicaid control fraud unit within the office, which would be up to 90 percent funded with federal money. Forty states have the unit already, and since Missouri spends $1 billion a year on Medicaid, the potential is there to save a large amount of tax dollars with the unit.

Quitno would also expand services to prosecutors around the state, especially in the area of prosecutions for child abuse. "These are very unique and difficult cases and this would be a real plus for law enforcement," he said.

A child protection division, patterned after one in Nebraska, would enable the Missouri attorney general to help prosecutors both with training and help with attorneys in dealing with abuse cases.

In dealing with the desegregation orders in St. Louis and Kansas City, Quitno said the state should be careful and not waste state resources fighting court orders they cannot change. However, the candidate said he is encouraged by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that might lessen the state's financial responsibility.

Quitno said he would work with other state officeholders to improve education in the state and seek increased funding so that school districts, especially in rural areas, can remain intact.

"As a prosecutor I see the symptoms of some things that need to be changed in this state," said Quitno. "An awful lot of people in the criminal justice system are undereducated and unemployable."

Reducing crime and improving education are strongly related, he said.

The controversy over the Second Injury Fund of the Division of Workers' Compensation is something the next attorney general will have to study closely, Quitno said.

"I think the next attorney general should get the best legal service for the lowest cost," he said.

Part of the present controversy stems from the fact that lawyers who have been contracted to represent the state in Second injury Fund claims have also contributed to the present attorney general's political campaigns.

"I feel it is absolutely inappropriate to accept campaign money from people who get no-bid contract work," he said. "It looks like there is a connection even if there isn't."

Other Democrats seeking the nomination for attorney general are: Sen. Jeremiah Nixon, D-Hillsboro; Mike Wolfe, a law professor from St. Louis; and Micheal Reardon, the Clay County prosecuting attorney.